Forging the Eighteen-Foot Spear

Ronan knew that kid had gone off to brag to his childhood sweetheart Kaya again.

But he'd already tracked down the blacksmith's shop, figuring forging an iron spear shouldn't be too hard.

Yet the next second, an awkward and brutal truth hit him.

He had no money.

After crossing over, he didn't have a single Belly on him—truly, a single coin could stump a hero.

Ronan sighed, turned to Nami, and plastered on a warm, purpose-driven smile: "Miss Nami..."

Nami immediately whipped her head around, eyes sharp: "What? Let me make this clear—I'm not lending you money!"

Nami's merciless words instantly shattered the gentle expression on Ronan's face, making the corner of his mouth twitch uncontrollably.

"But," Nami shifted gears, a shrewd, money-grubber's smile curling at her lips, "if you really want to borrow, my interest rates are pretty steep, you know!"

Ronan looked at Nami, her eyes practically flashing Belly signs, and sighed helplessly: "Fine, I'll borrow!"

Nami's eyes lit up, her tone turning excited: "How much?"

Ronan said, "I need to forge an iron spear. Not sure how much it'll cost."

"Forge an iron spear?"

Nami's interest spiked instantly—she could already see the rolling profits of Belly coming her way.

She stood up at once, pulling Ronan along: "Then let's go together! I'll help you check the price, so the blacksmith doesn't rip you off!"

Luffy and Zoro got up too, Luffy shouting excitedly:

"I wanna see too!"

Zoro said flatly, "Let's all go."

The four of them left the restaurant and headed toward the blacksmith's shop.

Sure enough, not far from the restaurant, a crude, smoke-filled blacksmith's shop appeared before them.

Scattered around the shop were iron shovels, iron rakes, and other farm tools, with a blazing forge at the center.

Inside, a man in his thirties or forties, dressed in coarse linen and looking more like an honest farmer, was busy at work.

Ronan ignored the farm tools around him, walked straight into the shop, and looked at the man: "Boss, can you make an iron spear?"

The boss looked up, surprised at the group of young outsiders: "Iron spear? I've only made farm tools like shovels and picks—never forged a weapon before."

Ronan's eyes lit up as he glanced at the all-iron pickaxe beside the boss—he knew this blacksmith had the skill to cast iron tools in one piece.

"Boss, it's simple!"

Ronan had the boss find a piece of paper and quickly sketched the design of the iron spear:

"Just use the same technique you use for the pickaxe, but on a long iron rod, and forge a sharp spearhead!"

Pointing at the drawing, Ronan gave precise specs:

"The shaft as thick as a child's arm, from tip to butt, one zhang and eight cun total!"

Exactly the shape of the Eighteen-Foot Spear.

The boss studied the drawing carefully, thought for a moment, and nodded: "I see. I can make that."

Ronan's heart leaped: "Boss, how much?"

The boss held up five fingers: "Five thousand Belly!"

Ronan breathed a sigh of relief—for a custom weapon, that price was a steal: "Five thousand Belly, not bad at all."

The boss explained with a smile: "Of course. It's mainly because your spear is long, thick, and heavy, so it costs a bit more."

Ronan immediately turned to Nami, putting on a fawning smile: "Nami, pay up."

Nami winced in pain, reluctantly pulling five thousand Belly from her pocket and slapping it on the counter as if it hurt: "Here, five thousand Belly, take it!"

Though five thousand Belly wasn't a huge sum for Nami, watching the money leave her hands still stung.

She shot Ronan a fierce glare and warned:

"Ronan! You'd better pay me back fast! Or my interest will keep climbing!"

Ronan gave Nami a confident, gentle look:

"Don't worry, I can handle this much Belly."

The blacksmith boss pocketed the money and nodded: "Young man, you can pick it up tomorrow morning."

Right after, led by Usopp's three underling kids, Ronan and the others followed the mountain path to the grandest mansion at the village's highest point.

Staring at the imposing European-style villa before them, Luffy couldn't help but exclaim: "Whoa! It's huge!"

The three kids eyed the gate warily and whispered: "If the Captain's gone at this hour, he's definitely here."

Luffy asked, puzzled: "What's Usopp doing here?"

One of the kids, with hair covering his eyes, answered bluntly: "Lying!"

Nami frowned at that, looking at the child: "How can that be! Lying is wrong!"

Another child immediately puffed out his chest and retorted: "It's not wrong at all! This is something great!"

Even the usually silent Zoro showed a puzzled expression as he asked the children: "How do you figure that?"

The children explained in a flurry:

"The young lady Kaya who lives in this villa has been frail and sickly, and ever since her parents passed away a year ago, she's been gloomy and unhappy."

"No matter how rich you are, there's nothing sadder than that, right?"

"So the Captain uses his specialty—tall tales—to make her laugh!"

"The Captain's boasting skills are top-notch!"

Ronan watched the scene before him and understood in his heart.

He knew Usopp's lies weren't malicious, but came from a kind-hearted meddling.

He didn't spoil anything for Luffy and the others, just quietly watched everything unfold.

Luffy listened to the children's sincere account, his eyes full of respect: "Then isn't he pretty amazing?"

The children nodded in unison: "Yeah!"

"That's what I like about the Captain—he loves to meddle."

"I like that he has leadership skills."

"I like that he loves to brag."

The three children each expressed their fondness and pride for Usopp.

After hearing this, Nami's eyes showed a hint of emotion as she bent down and asked with concern: "Then has the young lady's health gotten any better?"

The children answered proudly: "Much better!"

Hearing that, Luffy clapped his hands excitedly: "Great! Since she's better, let's go ask if she can give us a ship!"

Ronan and Zoro looked toward the mansion's entrance, where two burly men with unfriendly expressions stood guard.

The children sighed: "Just getting in is hard enough—there are tough guards at the gate."

Just then, Luffy had already jumped onto the villa's iron fence like a monkey, with a "whoosh."

Zoro asked in confusion: "Luffy?"

Luffy turned back with a grin: "I'll go ask!"

With that, he grabbed the top of the iron fence with both arms and stretched his body backward sharply.

Zoro's eyes widened in shock: "Are you going to..."

The children screamed in terror: "His arms stretched?!"

Luffy pressed his body against the ground like a taut rubber band, just about to launch himself—

Ronan, Zoro, and Nami instinctively grabbed onto his elastic body tightly!

"Boom—!"

With a loud crash, the immense stored elastic force burst forth in an instant!